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CLIMATE SCIENCE II - Weather Prediction BSC309

Duration (approx) 100 hours
Qualification To obtain formal documentation the optional exam(s) must be completed which will incur an additional fee of £30 inc VAT. Alternatively, a letter of completion may be requested.

Learn the tools and techniques used by climate scientist to predict probable weather conditions.

Weather prediction is never an exact science, but it is possible to predict conditions which are more likely to prevail.

It's easy to enrol...

1
Select a payment plan:

2
Select a learning method

Please note, choosing offline (USB stick) will attract a 5% surcharge on top of the course fee

3

Explore the Science that underpins weather prediction.

Weather prediction is never an exact science, but it is possible to predict conditions which are more likely to prevail.

COURSE CONTENT

There are eight lessons in this course as follows:

1. What to Measure

  • What is Weather Forecasting?
  • Weather Warnings
  • Weather forecasting
  • Impacts to people
  • Impacts for farming
  • Weather factors
  • Cloud cover
  • Minimum temperature
  • Maximum temperature
  • Dry bulb temperature
  • Wet bulb temperature
  • Wind speed
  • Wind direction
  • Precipitation
  • Absolute humidity
  • Relative humidity
  • Dew point
  • Mean sea level pressure
  • Station level pressure
  • Water vapour pressure
  • UV index

2. Tools for forecasting

  • Equipment
  • Weather stations
  • Weather balloons and drones
  • Satellites
  • Recording, Storing and Processing Data
  • High Performance Computers
  • Numerical Weather Forecasting
  • What should be in a minimal weather station?

3. Types of Forecasting

  • Persistence Forecasting
  • Climatological Forecasting
  • Use of a Barometer
  • Looking at the Sky
  • Nowcasting
  • Numerical Weather Prediction models
  • Statistical Forecasting
  • Analogue Forecasting
  • Ensemble Forecasting

4. Weather Models

  • Introduction
  • Weather models data sets and global weather models
  • ECMWF
  • GFS
  • How Weather Models are Built
  • Grid size
  • Problems with the Grid
  • How do parameterisations work?
  • Model Uncertainty
  • Data Assimilation
  • Mesoscale/Regional models
  • The Human Element of Weather Modelling

5. Predicting Temperature

  • Diurnal temperature variation
  • Forecasting maximum temperature
  • Forecasting minimum temperature
  • Effect of snow cover
  • Severity of frost
  • Forecasting grass minimum temperature
  • Minimum temperature on road surfaces
  • Heat Stress Determination
  • Urban Heat Island

6. Predicting Rain

  • Introduction
  • Convection and Showers
  • Forecasting convective cloud
  • Forecasting showers
  • Forecasting cumulonimbus and thunderstorms
  • Layer clouds and precipitation
  • Layer cloud formation
  • Condensation trails
  • Orographic rainfall
  • Formation of stratocumulus
  • Precipitation associated with layered clouds
  • Snow

7. Air Conditions

  • Introduction
  • Air Quality
  • Air Pollution and Its Effect on Climate
  • Carbon Dioxide
  • Methane
  • Airborne Chemicals
  • Air Particles
  • Pollen and Allergies
  • Radon
  • Wind and Turbulence
  • Mechanical Turbulence
  • Thermal Turbulence
  • Frontal Turbulence
  • Wind shear
  • Humidity
  • Visibility

8. Practical Applications

  • Introduction
  • Severe Weather Alerts
  • Aviation
  • Marine
  • Agriculture
  • Forestry
  • Utility Companies
  • Private Sector
  • Military
  • Medicine and Human Health
  • Waves and surges
Courses can be started anytime from anywhere in the world!